Newcomers vie with London for top shops

Monday, January 05, 2015 - 02:15

London's Bond Street is still top dog when it comes to designer brands and attracting discerning consumers from around the world. But Madrid, Istanbul and even Moscow are nipping at its heels. Hayley Platt reports.

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For decades London's New Bond Street has been a favourite destination for designer brands and shoppers.
No change there.
It was recently voted the best in Europe in a survey by global real estate agents Jones Lang LaSalle.
But it can't afford to rest on its laurels.
New competition is springing up - in new places.
Tim Vallance is Head of Retail & Leisure at JLL.
SOUNDBITE: Tim Vallance, Head of Retail & Leisure at Jones Lang LaSalle UK, saying (English):
"Perhaps the most surprising being Moscow and Istanbul. Moscow finds itself third in the table and Istanbul at seventh. If you look down the destinations we linked, say the top 20 with cities like Istanbul, Munich , Madrid, Paris and you look very carefully at what makes up those cities, it's not just retail tourism is a key element. There's an absolute abundance of culture and heritage, these are places people want to and live in, they want to visit and they'll go an spend there as well.
They also like spending in shopping malls too.
It's a multi-million dollar business that draws in millions of customers every year.
Originally an American concept, Britain opened its first shopping mall in London in 1976.
Since then Australian owned Westfield have opened two, both in London.
But there's a trend developing for the next generation of mega malls to go one step further, according to Kantar Retail's Bryan Roberts.
SOUNDBITE: Bryan Roberts, Director of Retail at Kantar Retail, saying (English):
"A shopping centre is pretty much a concept of the past. What developers are now looking to achieve is a day out essentially, so a combination of leisure, such as ice skating, football, cinema, lots and lots of different restaurants, lots of services and some sort of unique selling point that can drive people to these destinations."
Dubai's famous Mall is already doing that with its indoor ski slope and aquarium.
It's already one the world's largest.
And plans are underway to build an even bigger one, four times the size.
The new mall will contain a theme park, air-conditioned retail streets.
It'll also link to 100 hotels and serviced apartments.
Meaning that not only can you shop non-stop, you can drop on the spot ....

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